Her scent carried in the breeze, something he'd never miss, but something he'd rather appreciate selfishly. Tactical motives kept him stationed at the back of the ship; he didn't want to bother her now, not after her only family had perished. It was hard to see her in such a fashion, sad to watch her deteriorate with no hand to help. The dulling glare in her eyes hovered over the horizon, blankly muting any and every word he could possibly say.

"She's sad." Pino kept to her work, not looking up from her crayons to spare him the subtle hint.

"Huh?" Re-L was gone from his vision, replaced with the infected auto-reiv.

"She's sad; you need to talk to her so she'll be happy." The cheer in her voice had not died down, if anything, her experiences indulged on her happiness and brightened it.

"I can't Pino," he almost whined, almost, "she'll get even madder."

"No she won't."

He frowned at her, confused. "How do you know?"

"She just won't."

He mumbled something, almost growling before he took a deep breath and wandered in Re-L's direction, making small movements to avoid the avenger within. A small hint of confidence in his ivy toned eyes, seeing and hearing only her.

She kept her focus in the distance, barely sensing his presence behind her as she wondered wearily about her only friend, now buried six feet under. "Iggy…"

"Re-L?"

Immediately her mood took a turn into the wrong, pushing her eyes to narrow and a tight scowl sewn to her lips. "What do you want?"

He flinched mildly at her harsh tone, saddening at her disapproval, hoping she could get used to him. "How are you?"

She eyed him from a corner, glaring dangerously. "What's it to you?"

He struggled with words for a moment, not believing that he had to explain such a situation. "Because I care Re-L."

"Tch. Yeah, right." Never in her life had she dealt with someone who cared. Someone who wanted to hear what she had to say and why she had to say it. For nineteen years she was talked down to by soulless statues and her decaying grandfather, never had she dealt with a person to care so much as to wait on her hand and foot, to listen to her tale. It was his love that drove him to such incredible heights, his love for her, one that she refused to admit that she returned. "Just leave me alone." Her back was all she allowed him to see, not daring to turn around and show off the stinging tears making their way down her empty cheeks.

"But, Re-L…"

"I said leave." He sighed and marked his awkward drift towards Pino, slouching and slumming his way into a minimal depression. It wasn't a shock that she was naturally cold, he observed enough of her to understand that any human contact was void in her ability, but could it really take that long to warm up to somebody? From his perch at the wheel he could see her hair sway, he could see the shake under her skin, he could see her tears running down her face; and he desperately wanted to be the one to stop them.

"It's not your fault you know." The auto-reiv remained at his feet, still not looking at him, still coloring.

"'eh, Pino?"

"She's sad because she thinks you killed him, but she knows it wasn't your fault."

He let go of his hold and squatted down to her level, tilting his head momentarily to convey his confusion. "What do you mean?"

Pino huffed and lifted up her creation to his level of comprehension; a girl, a boy, and a heart in the middle. "She's sad because the person she loves killed the other person she loves." It took him a few minutes to realize that she was talking about Re-L's subconscious state. It didn't take much to recall that memory, the Proxies entourage had attacked her and Iggy took the brute of it all. Of course, subconsciously, it could have been his fault; if he hadn't starting this whole thing, if he hadn't stopped where they did, if he hadn't left and left her with no option but to follow…

"I'm tired."

He snapped out of his trance and looked to the source, watching Re-L's form disappear into the common area of the Rabbit. "Wait, Re—." Unfortunately, she slammed it before he could finish. Pino wordlessly looked up at him and followed Re-L's example into the common area, dragging her coloring gear with her and slamming the door just as hard. It was obvious that her mocking skills never intended to fade.

Vincent sighed and hung his head, deeming himself tired enough to halt the ship and call it a night as well, hoping that the jostling didn't awaken his raven-haired beauty inside. Pino wasn't easy to liven up; she had a plug and a corner, that was all. By the time he had the vessel at an end the night was darker than black, the wind had died down, the dust whipping the ends of his hair, and his footsteps being the only sound for miles. He looked beat, dragging his feet and crudely ripping the door open to bid himself a farewell, hollow eyes with shadows beneath, and barely able to lift his mouth in a yawn.

Pino's shell was in her corner, eyes glazed over in power-down mode, no movement what so ever. Re-L lay on her cot, back in view, facing the wall, shivering beneath her blanket. It was a sad sight, she didn't trust him enough to allow his comfort through that thick wall of ice surrounding her heart, and finding her only escape from loneliness in her dreams.

"I'm sorry for allowing this to happen Re-L," his shadow hovered over her lithe body, his hand willingly pushed a strand of her hair aside, "I'm sorry that you lost him, I know he was your only friend…" Her body stirred, and she whispered the faint sound of V-i-n-c---but it died on her breath before he could hear it. He smiled and lowered his lips to her ear, hovering over her slumbering body with the smallest of smirks on his face. "I love you, Re-L." He kissed the spot just below her ear, soft enough to not awaken her, but forceful enough for her body to restlessly stir once more.

He chuckled lightly and descended to his own bed on the floor, just below the sleeping beauty. And little did he know that she had heard every word of his speech, and she lightly touched the spot of which he had placed his lips not moments ago, and she couldn't keep the heavy blush off of her cheeks while she awaited his even breathing to finally go to sleep.

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Sorry for any mistakes.I didn't re-read.Any-who, this is just a collection of VincentXRe-l one-shots.'cause they're absolutely adorable.

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whitexgodess

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